After claiming their first win of the season against Camden Haven on June 17, the Kempsey Saints have continued on the upward trajectory after narrowly defeating Macleay Valley Rangers on the weekend.
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The close game went down to the wire with both teams creating opportunities to score a goal.
However, a Kempsey Saints goal kicked in the first 15 minutes of the game was all that separated the teams in the end.
Macleay Valley Rangers coach Jason Coleman said it was an "intense" game.
"In the first fifteen minutes, we made an error in a bad area and they pounced on it," he said.
"The game was quite intense after that, we kept on trying them on their line but just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net.
"To their credit, the Kempsey Saints defended well, they really wanted to win the game against us."
Coleman said the team has taken "a fair few lessons out of the game".
"After we went down early in the week, we lost our structure and panicked a bit," he said. "We need to maintain our composure."
Coleman said the team failed to stick to their game plan after conceding an early goal, a habit the coach is trying to eradicate from their playing style.
"If we let a goal in early, we tend to get a bit frantic and things start to fall apart," he said. "We need to not stress and let things flow naturally through our planned game structure.
"It's crucial to score early, but we have to not panic when it doesn't go our way. We also need to get some consistency and go from there."
The local derby coincided with the Macleay Valley Rangers' Charity Day. This year, their chosen charity was the McGrath Foundation.
"It was a fantastic day, we raised a lot of money," Coleman said. "The community got behind the cause which was great to see."
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